Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure, for example, relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to wireless devices capable of supporting multiple bandwidth modes.
Description of Related Art
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless network, for example a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network (IEEE 802.11) may include an access point (AP) that may communicate with one or more stations (STAs) or mobile devices. The AP may be coupled to a network, such as the Internet, and enable a mobile device to communicate via the network (and/or communicate with other devices coupled to the access point).
A wireless network may define multiple bandwidth modes specifying the bandwidth of channels used by wireless devices (e.g., 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, etc.) to communicate over the network. Some networks may permit the combination of multiple channels using channel bonding to allow for operation over a bandwidth that is larger than that of a single channel. Because some wireless devices may switch between these bandwidth modes, there is a need to efficiently leverage hardware in a wireless device to provide support for multiple bandwidth modes. Additionally, as the number and type of bandwidth modes supported by wireless devices increases, there is a need to provide support for new bandwidth modes while maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy bandwidth modes. Further, there is a need to increase bandwidth and throughput of wireless communications channels to support better communications between devices. This may require improvements in hardware and software of devices, such as switching between operating frequencies.